Diet on the Down-Low
By Jennifer Benjamin, Women's Health
Women's Health

Sunday-afternoon football, Thanksgiving dinner, meeting up at the bar for a "baby, it's cold outside" drink—November is a cruel month for any woman looking to drop a few pounds. Even if you have the willpower to avoid nachos, pecan pie, and the Cider Jack special, diet saboteurs can make you feel like a party pooper just for ordering dressing on the side. Bypass the peer pressure and the fat traps with these under-the-radar tips.
Your mission: Get through T-Day without consuming a week's worth of calories.
Your opponent: Pushy, plus-size Aunt Ruth, who eyes your looser-fitting pants and passes you the smoked-bacon stuffing and cheesy mashed potatoes.
Your game plan: Pile on the vegetable sides and white meat. Then, put a scoop of sweet potatoes or stuffing smack-dab on top. It'll give the illusion that your plate is loaded with high-carb goodness, even though it's mostly low-cal fare, explains Lisa Young, Ph.D., R.D., an adjunct professor of nutrition at NYU and the author of The Portion Teller Plan (Broadway Books, 2006). Skipping the dark meat and buttery potatoes will save you a few hundred calories.
Your mission: Maintain your party-girl cover without sucking down more martinis than James Bond.
Your opponent: The co-worker who claims that wine spritzers are for hockey moms.
Your game plan: Order an extra-spicy Bloody Mary and no one will dare call you a pansy. The old-school beverage delivers just 110 calories, and studies show that the Tabasco kick may actually help curb your appetite. Just don't let anyone catch you nibbling on the celery stick.
Your mission: Kick back and watch the game with your man and his friends without listening to comments about eating "rabbit food."
Your opponent: Your guy, who feels emasculated if he can't have something deep-fried with his beer.
Your game plan: Score a smaller butt while you rack up points with his crew by whipping up your own game-time munchies. "Seven-layer dip or onion dip, made with healthier ingredients like low-fat sour cream and cheese and ground turkey instead of beef, can be just as delicious as the full-fat variety," says David Grotto, R.D., author of 101 Foods That Could Save Your Life (Bantam, 2007). "The guys will have no clue it's healthy." For onion dip, follow the directions on the package but sub in low-fat plain yogurt for sour cream. Serve it with chips for them, and crudités and a light beer (or two) for you, and the boys will keep their heckling directed toward the screen.
Your mission: Stick to your diet at a restaurant without making your friends feel guilty for splurging.
Your opponent: The unsupportive friend who keeps telling you that a little cream sauce and butter-fried calamari never hurt anyone.
Your game plan: "Order two appetizers—one a healthy dish, like broth-based soup—and explain that so many things on the menu look good, you just can't decide," suggests Cynthia Sass, R.D., co-author of Flat Belly Diet (Rodale, 2008). According to a study at Penn State last year, having soup as a first course can help you shave about 20 percent of the calories off your meal. And who can accuse you of being a food prude when you've ordered two dishes?